Shelbyville church of Christ

07/04/2025

An Argument for Benevolence

The search for relevance of life will only take place where the struggle for survival has been replaced by sufficiency. Ergo, minimum physical needs must be met before spiritual needs can be addressed.
Thus it is necessary for the church to have a plan for benevolence if we are to reach those struggling to survive. I am not here to debate whether that plan can be corporate and funded from the church's treasury or must be fulfilled by individuals from their own pockets. Personally, I believe there is place for both. However you believe does not change the truth that failure of a church to be benevolent is failure to include "all mankind" in the church's efforts to carry out Our Lord's "Great Commission" to take His Gospel to everyone.
Brent

01/22/2024

Thank you Julie for having the family over for lunch Sunday. The food was tasty and plentiful, but the company and conversation were even better.

11/07/2023

https://radicallychristian.com/you-dont-get-a-new-body-when-you-die/?fbclid=IwAR0o_eb8DUE4EdKIm7WS2z3TLQypkS-nwHAebv9s6KvKBdQ4dM7_zX_z7oA

This article may clear up some misperceptions many have on the subject of what form our existence will take upon the resurrection.

It is not unusual to hear someone say, "She has received her new body." Of course, people repeat many clichés and platitudes at funerals which have no basis in Scripture.

11/03/2023

10 Things I Learned From the Account of Peter Walking on Water

In times of chaos & distress it takes "eyes of faith" to see that God is still in control. Romans 8:28
Discipleship is not a guarantee of being spared adversity, but rather a promise that we will face God in personal defining moments. James 1:2
Godly wisdom is necessary for a disciple being able to tell the difference between obedience and foolish human impulses. James 1:5
To participate in Christianity we must be in the world but not of the world as Jesus prayed in John 17. Matt. 5:14-16 & Matt.13:33,
The power to overcome setbacks, opposition, and unforeseen obstacles does not reside in the disciple, but rather has Christ as its source. Philippians 4:13
Growth as a disciple requires us to leave our comfort zone and doing so regularly will create a new comfort zone from which we launch forth again. Matthew 10:28 & 2Timothy 1:7
It is better to have gotten out of the boat and been both a success and a failure like Peter than to have stayed in the boat as the other disciples did and be an utter failure. Matthew 25:24-30
Failure does not shape one's life, but how one responds to failure does. 2Corinthians 12:9
We as disciples must learn to wait upon the Lord, becoming totally vulnerable and dependent upon Him; placing our destiny wholly in His hands. Isaiah 40:31
Desire to always be near our Lord must motivate us to partner with Him. Only in doing so will we be able to do the extraordinary -- that which we are clearly incapable of doing by ourselves -- as Peter did when he walked on water.

10/10/2023

This should be interesting and informative.

Be sure to watch the upcoming debate between Kyle Butt and Michael Shermer on the existence of the God of the Bible! See the brief promo video for the debate here. https://apologeticspress.org/video/debate-on-the-existence-of-god/

06/08/2023

“God Is Love”

Such a short and simple statement, but yet so profound. I dare say that few persons take the time and effort to fully plumb the depths of that statement. Most likely they settle for the shallow interpretation and platitude that God is loving.
The phrase “God is love” is not about how God acts or feels toward man. It is all about His character and makeup. “Love” is integral to the very nature of God and He would not be God without “love”.
But we are not talking about just any old type of “love”. The Greek language has four different words which are translated “love” in the English language. Three of the four words are for types of emotional love: “eros”- sexual love, “storge”- familial affection, “phileo”- brotherly love or camaraderie. The fourth word is “agape”- an intentional desire for the well-being of another, regardless of the cost or inconvenience to oneself.
Since God is “love-agape” we come to the truth that everything God does, has ever done, or will ever do, has at its very foundation and is wholly motivated by His desire to bless His creation, including mankind. It was “agape” that caused Him to have a plan in place to reconcile alienated man back to Himself before He set the foundations of the world (Matthew 25:34 & Ephesians 1:4).
The cost of reconciliation to both God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ) certainly was immeasurable and the inconvenience was truly immense, especially when one realizes there was no true benefit for God to do so. He and His existence would have been just as complete without mankind as it is with us. It supplied nothing He needed,. He would still have been fully God even without man to worship Him.
One thing that “God is love” has been interpreted to mean is that He is accepting of everyone who lay claim to Him as their “God” regardless of their behavior. They claim that an all-loving God would want them to be happy and therefore whatever lifestyle which makes them happy must be acceptable to Him. This is an egregious misinterpretation of what “God is Love” means. We will look at this in more detail in Part 2 of “God Is Love”. Until then, know the God does love you in that He wants what is best for you spiritually and has proven that in the sacrificial gift of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). He loves you and I love you in the way of “agape”.

04/29/2023

Jesus the Good Shepherd

John 10:1-18 (NRSV)
1 "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."

In the story of the “Good Shepherd”, Jesus stated ownership of the flock of sheep. As owner of the sheep, He states that He is willing to do anything necessary to protect and care for His sheep, unlike the hired help. They would run at the first sign of trouble because the sheep weren't precious to them. They valued their own welfare more than that of the flock, but not the “Good Shepherd”.
Notice that He said others had come before Him and would come after Him with the mission to steal sheep. There were false messiahs that appeared to the Jewish people and led some out into the desert where they perished. There have been at least six others recorded from the 7th century to date who have claimed to be the Messiah returned. But they care not about the sheep, they care about trying to get people to believe they are someone special and treat them as such.
The sheep are said to know the voice of and follow only the true “Good Shepherd” who will provide safe passage from the fold to green pastures and back again. He said He provides an “abundant life” for His sheep; they want and lack nothing necessary for their continued well being. The sheep know, that is have an intimate relationship with the “Good Shepherd”. This allows the sheep to ignore the calls of a stranger intent on their destruction (Satan and his representatives). He likens these individuals to a wolf attempting to enter into the flock and reek havoc.
He also notes that He has other sheep (Gentiles) not of the fold which will be incorporated into the “one flock”. They too will only answer and follow the one true “Good Shepherd”. Jesus carries this imagery of Himself as the “Good Shepherd” over into the parable of the one lost sheep found in Matthew 18.
It is interesting to me that in the latter verses of our reading, Jesus foretells yet again of His death on behalf of His people. He says that to please His Father, He will lay down His life for the flock and will take that life back up again. Jesus emphasizes that no man can force Him to do so or forcibly take His life from Him. This means His sacrifice for us was a voluntary act by the “Sacrificial Lamb of God”.
Not only do these verses speak to His death upon the cross, but also to His resurrection. Jesus says He will take His life up again. We know that He spoke of His resurrection in other places. Twice He said no additional sign would be given the stubborn Jews but that of Jonah, referencing the three days and nights before He would arise from the tomb (Matthew 12 & 16). Without this resurrection we would be hopeless of our own resurrection and as Paul stated and “be of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15).
Let us ponder on the things this reading has brought to our attention:
1. Jesus as God's representative, and God owns us.
2. As an owner and not a hireling, there is no length that our “Good Shepherd” will not go to:
a) Have an Intimate relationship with us
b) Protect us
c) Provide an abundant life for us
3. Because we are of His flock, we are assured of the resurrection to come and that He has gone to prepare a place for us in our Father's presence (John 14).

04/16/2023

We are in the middle of a series here in Shelbyville entitled "A Story of Grace" based on the book of Jonah. The story abounds with God's grace and Jonah's lack of grace running throughout. God graciously allowed Jonah the choice to run from Him. He also provided a ship and the funds to purchase passage upon that ship going to Tarshish (2000 miles in the wrong direction), the storm to stop Jonah dead in his tracks, and the great fish to swallow and carry him back to the place he started running from God.
God is a God of second chances and Jonah need one desperately. The three day & night trip in the fishes belly got Jonah's attention and drew his mind back to his duty to God. His prayer/psalm in chapter two is evidence of his repentance for running from his duty to God.
In chapter three we see the greatest revival ever known. A complete kingdom (over 120,000 people) respond to an eight word message preached from Jonah.
In chapter four we see that some people are never pleased (Jonah) when others are blessed. He even struggles to learn a lesson from the vine grown by God which shades him one day only to be cut by the worm the next and die. Finally, we will discuss what Ninevehs we may have ourselves. Are there things we are called to do, places we are called to minister, people we are called to serve that we are uncomfortable and unwilling to do and place ourselves in Jonah's shoes?
While I can't preach the whole four-part series here in this short post, I hope it might peak your interest enough to read the book of Jonah with these thoughts in mind. As always, you are invited to visit us and hear the last lessons on the next two Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m.

04/01/2023

How Big Is Your God?

I ask this question knowing that God is God whether he is yours, mine or ours. So the answer is obvious – He is just as big for you as He is for me. Yet, a better way of stating my question and what you probably thought when you saw the question is “How big is your concept of God?” The answer to this question does really matter. For if our concept of God is lacking, if we don't see Him as all powerful, then we will be unwilling to undertake big and difficult things on His behalf.
The temptation is to limit our dreams and plans, “be realistic” as we think of what we ought to be doing on His behalf. But that is to plan based on our understanding and our strength, leaving God out of the equation. Often then we use our inability to have faith that we can accomplish great and difficult things on His behalf as an excuse to never try or at best try “little things.” This was the struggle the “one talent” man succumbed to and displeased the Lord at His coming (Matthew 25:24ff). We all know that the result was that he was cast out into the lake of fire.
Several examples of persons with the right concept of God immediately come to mind. First there was David as he took on Goliath. He came upon the Israelite war camp and found his brothers, their fellow soldiers and even King Saul shaking in their sandals to the daily taunts of Goliath. Their concept of God and the help He would provide was woefully inadequate, but not David's. David knew that it was not by his strength that Goliath would fall, but rather by God's power. David would just be the instrument God used to accomplish the victory (1 Samuel 17:4 ff).
A second example is found in Jonathan and his armor-bearer (1 Samuel 14:1 ff). While his father Saul and the rest of the army was hiding in caves and under the cover of trees, trembling as they faced the Philistine army, Jonathan took his armor- bearer and snuck over to the other side of the valley. He approached the guards of the garrison and waited upon God to show he and his armor-bearer how to proceed. Depending on how the guard responded to their presence, they would either stay or approach the guards. When God had the guard to foolishly boast and invite them up to the top of the rise, they went and slew over 20 men. This got the attention of both the Philistine camp which rose in panic, and of the Israelite army who took courage and joined in the offensive against the Philistines. It was because of Jonathan's concept of God and what could be accomplished with His help that the Philistine army was routed and driven out of the Israelite territory on that day.
So again I ask you as I ask myself, “How big is your God?” Will you and I plan and undertake great things, hard and large on behalf of God? Or will we hide ourselves from the world and our responsibility to it in caves and bushes? Only daring to make and undertake small plans that we feel comfortable that we can do by our own power and understanding.

03/22/2023

Thoughts From: Prayer - Experiencing Awe & Intimacy with God
By: Timothy Keller

King David wanted to build a house for God. It would be a place where God's glory and majesty was on display for all to see. However, God sent a message by the prophet Nathan that he should not build it, but rather his son Solomon would do so. Then God made a counterproposal..."I will build you a house." God said, in effect in that counterproposal that He would establish David's royal family and through David's lineage would ultimately reveal His own glory in a more permanent and far-reaching way. This was a play on the word "house", physical building vs lineage.
We know that God was referring to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who through Mary traces His lineage back to King David. It is also said of Him that He would inherit and sit on the throne of David. (See: Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:32-33; Isaiah 9:6-7)
The Messiah of mankind placed God's glory on display far more than any physical building, no matter how grand, ornate, or gold overlayed, could ever do. The building would eventually be destroyed, but the Messiah lives on and is seated at the right hand of His Father.

03/13/2023

This article is a good read on the subject .